Author Archives: Monroe Cheese Studio

ACS 2011 — Arrival

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Click here to view Caitin Hunter’s photo album of her trip to the Abbey cheeses of Quebec.

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Made good time to Montreal — 6.75 hours including a half-hour stop for lunch — and checked-in to my and Kevin’s Craig’s List apt rental. Good price, includes parking, but bare bones. As Kevin points out, “we’re going to spend about seven or eight hours here a day, max. What more do we need?”

Excellent attitude.

ER and KB enjoy lunch by the highway.

ER and KB enjoy lunch by the highway.

We walked the seven blocks downhill (therefore *uphill home*) to the Palais du Congress convention hall to register for the conference, and then split up so that Kevin could attend the reception for first-time attendees.
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ACS 2011 — The Journey Begins

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I packed up my competition entries and shipped them off last week. CHECK. I’ve confirmed my lodging in Montreal. CHECK. I’ve moved my cows from the lower pasture to the upper pasture where they should have more than enough to much on until I get back. CHECK. I’ve Googled to find the best poutine in Montreal. CHECK.

I still need to pack and gas up the car. Otherwise I think I’m ready to go. Tomorrow I pick up Kevin Burnsteel (cheesemaker at Pineland Farms Creamery) in Augusta and we will be on our way to the American Cheese Society conference in Montreal, which actually began today (Tuesday) when all the competition entries will be judged (though ribbons will not be publicly awarded until the ceremonies Friday night). Other activities begin Wednesday with a series of guided tours of Montreal and Canadian cheese highlights. Kevin and I won’t arrive until those tours have completed, but we plan to be there for the opening keynote on Thursday morning, after which it will be three days of non-stop cheese talk culminating in the Festival of Cheese on Saturday night when we all have a chance to try all 1300+ cheeses that were entered in the competition from all over North America, at which point most of us will actually be cheesed-out.

I will be doing my best (depending on the connectivity I find with my laptop and mobile phone) to update those of you who weren’t able to attend the conference here on the Guild web site, as well as on the new Guild Twitter feed: @MECheeseGuild, which will be the first place we announce any Maine ribbon winners at the competition awards on Friday night. Good luck to all who entered!

It’s All Greek To Me

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Does any one else make and sell Greek Yogurt? If so, you should be aware that our “secret” is out!

I offered Greek Yogurt in 2008 at the Belfast Farmers Market, and sold one package in four weeks, so I stopped making it. In 2009 I got requests for it as soon as the market started, and consistantly sold 4 to 8 packages a week. Lots of people asked what it is, and some of them ended up buying it. I told anyone who asked how they could save some money and make it themselves from my regular yogurt, and one or two people said they did, but everyone else said they were “too busy.” I still see lots of mentions of it in the press, so I expect even more demand for it in 2010.